


I've got somewhere I belong (I've got somebody to love)

by greenarrow12123



Category: Wonder Woman (2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Diana is badass, F/M, Family, Fluff and Angst, STEVE TREVOR IS PRECIOUS AND MUST BE PROTECTED AT ALL COSTS, childhood best friends, childhood meetings, plus chapters from their childhood thrown in, the movie just with diana and steve knowing each other, this is what happens in my brain at 2 am
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-20
Updated: 2017-07-25
Packaged: 2018-12-04 13:30:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11556192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greenarrow12123/pseuds/greenarrow12123
Summary: Steve Trevor landed on Themyscira when he was just seven years old. The Amazonians and five year old Diana took him under their wing; trained him and loved him. But a few years later, he is swept away leaving Diana and the Amazonians distraught and unaware of what happened to him. What happens when he shows up more than a decade later begging Diana for help?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I have fifty million stories to update but I just had an epiphany and had to write this before it got out of my head...so the chapters are going to alternate from childhood to present time....so I hope you enjoy!!!!

Steve Trevor landed on Themyscira when he was just seven years old. 

He woke up on a sandy beach, the sun burning his eyes, a young girl with raven black hair leaning over him with wide eyes. 

“ _You’re a boy_.” 

Steve’s face scrunched up in confusion, “Yeah, do I not look like one?” 

Diana beamed and from that moment they were inseparable. 

His time on the island didn’t begin easily. Steve held tight onto Diana’s hand as her mother, Queen Hippolyta, glared down at him with narrowed and suspicious eyes. He gulped as her gaze dropped to his hand tight in Diana’s and he frantically tried to pull away, but Diana just tightened her grip, throwing him a gentle smile before turning back to her mother and demanding that Steve is allowed to stay. 

And stay he did. 

At first, Hippolyta hadn’t been too keen on allowing Steve to remain on Themyscira. But she soon found out that it was a lost cause trying to fight the other Amazonians. In the short time that Steve had been on the island, he had managed to worm his way into everybody’s hearts. 

His smile lightened up a room. His laugh was contagious. And anybody who talked to him couldn’t help but smile at his enthusiasm. 

He would follow the warriors around like a lost puppy wanting to learn how to fight. They would show him a few moves and his face would light up as he copied them back perfectly. He would ride the horses, sitting in front of Antiope, pretending that he was galloping across the sand in battle. She would give him pointers and soon he was riding around alone, a smile wide on his face as he jumped over fallen trees. He would sit with Hippolyta during meetings learning how to be diplomatic. She would give him pointers on how to deal with confrontation and he would solemnly nod, making a point to remember every detail she told him. But the best part was being with Diana. 

_Diana_. 

She was his first and only friend. And they were the best of friends. They were both hard-headed and stubborn. But they managed to bring out the best in each other. Though most of the time they caused more trouble than good. They were troublemakers. They were pranksters. They slipped away from their tutors. They secretly trained together. They lay in the sand, dreaming of their futures. They would sneak into each other’s beds late at night, sharing their deep dark secrets. They were rarely seen more than a foot away from each other. 

Steve wasn’t used to having a best friend. As a child, he and his parents had moved around every few months. He was never in a place long enough to keep a friend. So instead he would follow around the adults, learning and imitating, hoping that one day he would be like one of them. 

But his whole world had been turned upside down when his parents had died and he had been shipped off to live with his aunt. He had been on a boat going to Britain when a storm hit. Lightning struck the boat causing him to fall in the water. And the next thing he knew he woke up on Themyscira. 

Steve loved living there. He loved his new family. He felt included. He felt loved. They cared about him. They educated him. They trained him. They _loved_ him. He never wanted to leave. But it wasn’t up to him.

Five years later, on the same day he landed on the beach, he was swept away. He was out in the water, trying to find one last pearl to finish the bracelet he was making for Diana, when a wave pulled him under. And when he woke up, he was laying on a beach a woman leaning over him. But it wasn’t Themyscira. And it wasn’t Diana. 

His ears felt muffled and he could see the woman talking to him, but he wasn’t able to comprehend what she was saying. His head swam as he caught the word London and he shook his head ripping himself out of the woman’s grip. He ran back to the ocean, the water splashing around him, believing that if he could just go back under the water he would wake up back on Themyscira. But the woman ran after him, pulling him back and the last thing Steve remembered was calling out for Diana before everything went black. 

The years passed and Themyscira wasn’t the same. Losing Steve had hit the Amazonians hard. No one knew what had happened to him. It seemed he had just vanished. All that had been found was the bracelet Steve had been making for Diana, lying in the sand inches away from the rippling ocean. Many believed the worst, but Diana held out hope that one day she would see him again. And no one had the heart to tell her otherwise. She missed him dearly. As she grew, she threw herself into training to distract herself. But it was difficult to forget him. There were memories of him everywhere. His clothes. His weapons. His toys. His stories. His drawings. And the bracelet he had made her that she wore every day. 

All the Amazonian’s were heartbroken. They believed they would never see him again, but they didn’t know how wrong they were. 

Life continued. And then one day a plane fell out of the sky and without a second thought Diana found herself jumping into the water, grabbing onto the sinking body and dragging them up onto the sand. She glanced down, her eyes widening in shock. 

The man beneath her coughed, his eyes opening but then immediately shutting as the bright sun scorched his eyes. When they opened again, he froze as his eyes caught sight of the woman with raven dark hair above him. She was older. Her eyes hardened. _But it was still her_. He knew it was. 

“ _You’re a man_.” She said in awe. 

He smirked, “Yeah, do I not look like one?” 

Diana froze and then reached out slowly her hand brushing the hair back from his face, before pulling away as she caught sight of his familiar blue eyes, _“Steve_?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve's first few days on Themiscyra and he's already causing mischief (thanks to Diana)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is so late I wanted to have this up yesterday morning but I got called into work and didn't get home till 11 and then I had to edit and it took forever but here you go! Hope you enjoy!!!!!

_*Steve: 7 years old*_

Diana’s eyes were wide as she leaned over the motionless boy on the sand before her. She reached out to brush the hair back from his face, but was startled back as he suddenly came to life, coughing out seawater with a groan. His eyes opened, offering Diana with the bluest eyes she had ever seen. 

“ _You’re a boy_.” 

The boy’s face scrunched up in confusion, “Yeah, do I not look like one?” 

Diana beamed and from that moment they were inseparable. 

“Diana! Get away from him!” 

The boy scrambled to his feet and backed away from the Amazon’s who began storming the beach. Diana shot to her feet and grabbed the boy’s hand, pulling him to stand beside her, yelling at the Amazon’s to stop but they continued their assault and pushed the children back against the cliffside. 

Diana gripped tight to the boy’s hand, glaring at the Amazon’s who had cornered the two children, their weapons in their hands thankfully not aimed at the boy beside her. She could feel his heart racing and took a step closer to him, turning to throw him an encouraging smile. His mouth quirked up slightly in response, he mouthed thank you and her smile widened. 

“Diana! Back away from him.” Hippolyta demanded pushing her way through the gaggle of Amazon’s, stopping just a few feet away from the children. The boy flinched back at the loud shout, the smile dropping off his face as he took in the armored woman before him. 

“No! He’s my friend!” 

The warriors grew closer and the boy threw a worried look at Diana, who in turn narrowed her eyes and stepped forward, placing herself slightly in front of him. Her tiny body barely blocked him from view, but with no clear way to reach him, the Amazon’s looked to Hippolyta for orders. 

“Diana! Move. Now. ” 

Hippolyta took a step forward, gesturing to the warriors around her, their weapons once rose albeit hesitatingly. But Diana just pushed the boy further behind her standing fully in front of him, leveling her mother with a fierce glare. 

Antiope stepped up alongside Hippolyta, glancing at her sister before focusing on her steel faced niece. She took a step forward and gestured to Diana who relaxed a little, “Diana. No harm shall come to this boy. Let’s go inside and talk about this.”

Diana nodded and watched as her mother turned to face Antiope, their eyes locking and having a silent conversation, before she turned and walked away. Diana waited until the others started moving before following behind them. As they reached the end of the beach, they began to climb the steps leading up the cliff. The boy started up the stairs but Diana yanked back at his hand and he took a step back, turning to face her.

“I am Diana.” She whispered. 

He smiled at the young girl, who still held on tight to his hand, “I’m Steve.” 

She smiled widely at him before starting up the steps, hurrying to catch up to the warriors ahead of her. After a few minutes, they finally stepped inside the great hall. Hippolyta and Antiope stepped up taking their places at the front of the room. The other Amazon’s filed in filling the sides of the room while Diana and Steve made their way to the front, stopping just feet away from her mother and aunt. 

As Hippolyta met Steve’s eyes, his grip tightened around Diana’s and he gulped, shivering, not knowing if it was because of her gaze or his wet clothes. And when her gaze dropped to his hand in Diana’s, he frantically tried to pull away, but Diana just tightened her grip, glaring at her mother and demanding that Steve be allowed to stay. 

“He will not stay here. He is not from here.”

“I am not from here. If I can stay, he can stay.” 

“Diana, you do not understand-“ 

“I do understand! He is my friend! He is one of us now.”

Arguments broke out amongst the Amazon’s. Many argued that the boy should be allowed to stay; however, some countered that he would be a danger to them.

Hippolyta sighed knowing that this was not a fight she was going to win now. She watched as the boy held tight to her daughter’s hand, the way he looked at her knowing that she would protect him, how small and helpless he looked; he was just a boy. 

“Quiet!” 

The room silenced and she threw a look at the Amazons. They nodded; they would talk about it and make an official decision later, but for now the child, this boy, was theirs. 

“Fine.” 

Steve took in a deep breath, his eyes widening and Diana next to him was practically vibrating with excitement. 

“He will be trained. He will be educated. In one month we will officially decide whether or not he can stay. However, if he steps one foot out of line-“ 

Before she could even finish her sentence, Diana smiled wide, “He will not! Thank you, Mother!”

Diana started out of the room, pulling Steve with her. He threw a confused looked behind him before being dragged fully out of the room. Once they were gone, the Amazon’s dispersed leaving just those that sat on the council. As they sat down for their meeting, a huge explosion sounded from outside, followed by two loud, “oops!” 

Hippolyta sighed heavily as Antiope smirked, “Oh, they are going to be trouble.”

──────────────────────

_And trouble they were._

During the council meeting, Hippolyta tried her best to convince everyone that Steve staying on Themyscira was a bad idea. But the other Amazon’s refused to vote until they had a chance to observe the boy. And a few days later, they held the vote and the Queen was quickly outvoted. In just the few days Steve had been on Themyscira he had managed to worm his way into everybody’s hearts. 

And Hippolyta knew how. She watched him closely his first few days. 

She watched as he smiled at every Amazon he passed. His face would be beaming as he wished them a good day and they would smile back and ruffle his hair, causing a blush to flush his cheeks as she scurried away. 

She watched, as he would tell a story and the whole room would burst into laughter, Diana always laughing the loudest.

She watched as he walked around with excitement plastered on his face. He took in Themyscira around with wide eyes and touched everything he could get his hands on. He asked question after question and the Amazon’s were more than happy to answer. 

She watched, as he would race to get spare arrows or find lost knives, pleading with the warriors to teach him how to fight. How they all shared smirks at how similar his pleading was to Diana’s. 

She watched as he placed himself right alongside her daughter. The children were never seen more than five feet from each other. Where Diana went Steve quickly followed, his face lighting up when Diana would grab his hand and offer him a smile.

And though by himself, he was harmless, him and Diana, together, were trouble. 

Diana and Steve were best friends. 

It soon became habit to sneak out of bed at night. They would lie awake in the early morning sharing stories. Diana would talk about her mother, her aunt, and all the Amazons. She would talk about how she wanted to learn how to fight. She would tell him the stories of the God’s. 

Steve would listen with wide eyes as she went on and on. And soon he was sharing stories. He told her about his parents, how they had died when he was younger. He told her about how he had never made many friends because he had moved around so much. When he would mention something of his past unknown to her, she would listen with wide eyes wanting to know all about the outside world. He smiled at her enthusiasm for normal things like ice cream or snow, hoping to himself that he would one day get to show her.

“I’ve never had a friend before.” Steve said. 

Diana met his eyes, “Me neither.” 

Diana smiled and Steve knew at that moment that there was no going back at this point; Diana would forever be the most important person in his life.

──────────────────────

Steve’s first week on Themyscira passed by quickly. After _accidentally_ setting off the cannon on his first day there, no other accidents had happened and Hippolyta hoped it had just been a one time occurrence, but oh how wrong she had been.

Just one week later, a smiling Diana stood next to an apologetic looking Steve as Hippolyta glared down at them, Antiope standing to her right trying to cover up her laugh. Niola, Diana and Steve’s tutor, stood on the other side of Hippolyta, covered in paint and feathers, a deep frown embedded on her face.

“Diana. Steve. What do you have to say for yourselves?” 

“I’m sorry!” Steve cringed.

“I am sorry, Mother.”

“Not only did you leave your tutoring session. You covered Niola in paint and feathers. You replaced all the warriors’ swords with sticks. You freed all of the horses. And you set fire to the courtyard!” 

_A few days ago_ : 

Diana’s eyes fluttered closed and she felt herself begin to drift off. As her eyes closed completely, a loud bang slammed at the edge of her desk and she jumped up. 

“Diana. You must pay attention. This is important.” 

“Mhm.” She nodded solemnly and her tutor, Niola, nodded her head with suspicious eyes before turning back to continue her lesson. 

Diana’s gaze swung from her tutor to Steve, who was frantically taking notes. She glanced back down at her own paper, one that was full of drawings. She began finishing the sketch of a sword when she realized the room had fallen into silence. She looked up meeting the eyes of Niola. 

Niola cleared her voice, “I am going to grab your homework from my study. Finish your work and I will return momentarily.”

They both nodded and once the tutor left, Diana turned to Steve with a smile and his eyes widened. 

“No! Diana! I know that smile. We need to do that work.” Steve knew that Diana had something outlandish on her mind. Within just a few hours of knowing her, he found out just how prone to pranks she was. 

“But you want to train, do you not? Antiope promised the both of us she would train us if we practiced. We could go now.” Diana was already grabbing her belongings and Steve sighed. He did want to train, but he didn’t want to get in trouble. He was already on edge with Diana’s mother. He saw her always watching him, waiting for him to mess up so she could send him away. But when he turned to look at Diana’s hopeful face he knew that he was going to give in. 

“I’m in!” 

Diana smiled and Steve grabbed his stuff, “Wait!” And Diana froze, “What are we going to do about Niola?” 

Diana smirked and Steve’s eyes widened. She reached into her bag and pulled out a rope, tossing it to Steve who caught it with raised eyebrows. The next hour was one of genius. 

Diana went to work tying the rope to a handle on the wall, before running over to the window and throwing it over the edge watching as it went down far enough to the patio below. Steve grabbed a bucket and dumped it out on the table before turning and asking Diana for the bottle of paint. She seemed confused what he was doing but he said that many children did this where he came from. Diana pushed a chair over so that Steve could climb up and perch the bucket on top of the cracked door.

Diana went down the rope first, Steve followed quickly after and they landed on the patio below, Steve smiling when she saw some old ripped pillows in the room through the window. He pulled the window up and jumped in grabbing a few and dropping them exactly where he and Diana had landed. 

Not waiting a second more, they took off to the weapon’s cache. They peeked around the corner catching sight of the warriors practicing with bow and arrows. Diana snuck in a grabbed two swords before a smirk formed on her face and she grabbed even more. She dragged them along behind her one by one and made it back to Steve who was looking at her puzzled. She sent him off to gather some sticks and when he made it back, the swords were gone and she took the sticks, placing each of them in every sword holster she had grabbed. 

“Diana! Steve!” 

The kids whipped around in panic and finished putting the sticks into the holsters before placing them back in the weapons cache and taking off. They slipped into the paddock with the horses and hid behind their huge bodies as Amazon’s rushed by calling their names. After they were gone, they jumped out of the paddock. As Diana slipped out after Steve, her shirt caught on the latch and she pulled roughly not noticing how the latch came undone. 

As they ran, they heard the sound of pounding feet behind them and they looked around in panic seeing the horses. Their eyes met each other in shock before they took off. They passed by the warriors practicing archery, the stampede startled one of the Amazon’s and she released her flaming arrow, it arched and landed in a lone cart, which quickly went up into flames. 

Steve and Diana’s watched the Amazon’s put out the fire, their eyes widening as a paint and feather covered Niola rounded the corner screaming their names. They ran and ran and ran. Diana jumped over and under arches, Steve trailing behind her panting trying to keep up. When they reached a long drop, Diana grabbed Steve’s hand, “Together?” 

She nodded and they were about to jump when two sets of hands reached down and grabbed them, yanking them up and over the wall. 

They both looked up with innocent expressions.

“Hello, Mother!”

──────────────────────

After receiving their punishment, Diana and Steve were sent to their rooms. Neither was allowed to leave for four days and would have to collect every weapon they hid, brush all the horses and apologize to Niola. But the worst part was they weren’t allowed to see each other.

Diana paced her room restlessly. It was the second day of her punishment and she was getting antsy. She missed Steve. Knowing that he was just a few feet from her made it worse, his room was just one over from hers. After a few hours, she had just slipped into bed when she heard a small knock on the wall across from her bed. She jumped out of bed and ran over to the wall pulling back the curtain. A rock in the mall moved and Diana’s eyes widened as she pulled and the wall gave way, opening up a small door. 

“Diana?” 

“Steve?!” 

Steve’s head popped out of the hole and he smiled, “Move back. Let me come in.” 

Diana scrambled backward and reached out grabbing onto his hands and trying to pull him in faster. 

“What are you doing here?” 

“I couldn’t sleep.” 

Steve jumped onto her bed and settled down hugging one of her pillows to his chest. Diana lay down next to him and they lay in silence for a few minutes. 

“Diana?” 

“Yes?” 

“I miss my family. But I’m happy here. Does that make me a bad person?” 

Diana reached out and grabbed his hand giving it a tight squeeze, “Your family would be happy that you are happy. If you want, I can be your new family.” 

“I’d like that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright so after planning it out all I'm gonna do alternating chapters of flashbacks and present time. I was gonna throw the flashbacks in present day time but planning out the flashbacks, they got too long that they would take up the whole chapter....so alternating it is. However, there may be a few short flashbacks in present day chapters but only if need be. I've edited this chapter a little, not too much that if you don't reread it'll be fine. But I'm writing the next chapter now so hopefully it'll be up in a few days. If I get my act together maybe tonight haha 
> 
> Next up: Diana and Steve are reunited and Steve tries to convince them to help him in the war dun dun dun


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Diana and Steve are reunited

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wrote this in like an hour because I was so excited that I have the rest of the story planned out soooo hope you enjoy!!!!!

_The man beneath Diana coughed, his eyes opening but then immediately shutting as the bright sun scorched his eyes. When they opened again, he froze as his eyes caught sight of the woman with raven dark hair above him. She was older. Her eyes hardened. But it was still her. He knew it was._

_“You’re a man.” She said in awe._

_He smirked, “Yeah, do I not look like one?”_

_Diana froze and then reached out slowly her hand brushing the hair back from his face, before pulling away as she caught sight of his familiar blue eyes, “Steve?”_

──────────────────────

_***present time***_

" _Steve_?”

The man in question sat up, his face breaking into a beaming smile as his eyes locked on the woman before him, “ _Diana_.” 

Diana’s eyes welled up and she shot forward. Her body slammed into his and he let out a grunt as the breath was knocked out of him, but he quickly raised his arms wrapping them tight around her back, his fingers grasping for purchase on her clothes. Her arms were tight around him, her face buried in his neck, his wet clothes cold and scratchy against her arms. 

“I can’t believe I made it back.” He mumbled into her hair. 

She pulled back slightly, her eyes flashing, “Where have you been? You vanished. We did not know if you were dead or alive.” 

“ _I’m so sorry_.” He released one of his hands from around her back to brush the hair out of her face. His eyes raced over her features trying to memorize her face worried that she was going to disappear again. 

His eyes darkened, “I tried to come back.”

_12 years old:_

_Steve walked barefoot along the beach the leather bracelet he was making Diana for her birthday tight in his hand. He needed just one last pearl to complete it. After an hour of kicking over shells, he still hadn’t found anything._

_With a sigh, he waded further into the ocean, his eyes widening when he caught sight of something on the ocean floor. He threw the bracelet back onto the sand, before taking a deep breath and diving deep. His eyes opened under water, burning slightly but he continued his descent until he reached the bottom. Grabbing onto the pearl, he smiled. He spun around and pushed off the ocean floor, breaking the surface with a gasp. He looked around trying to catch sight of the island. When he finally saw it, he realized he was farther away from the beach than he thought. He began to swim when a wave crashed over him, he gasped for breath, struggling to stay above watch, but another wave knocked him down and he began to sink, the world going dark around him._

_Steve coughed, rolling over as water spurted out of his mouth, his throat burning. He opened his eyes, seeing a woman leaning over him._

_“Diana?” He coughed._

_When his eyes focused, the woman in front of him became clear and he scrambled backward, his eyes wide._

_The unknown woman walked slowly over to him and he stumbled to his feet, his head swimming. He couldn’t comprehend what was going on. He could see the woman’s mouth moving, but all he heard was silence._

_He shook his head trying to clear his ears and when looked up again, sound flooded his ears. When he heard the word London his heart dropped. His head swung around and he caught sight of dozens of people, women, men, and children, standing around him. He wasn’t on Themyscira anymore._

_The woman grabbed onto his arm, but he shook his head ripping himself out of the woman’s grasp taking off back toward the ocean. As he reached the edge, the water splashed up around his legs. If he could just get back under the water, he could make it back home. Back to Diana. The water had just risen to his waist, but before he could go under, arms pulled him back._

_And the last thing Steve remembered was calling out Diana’s name before everything went dark._

“Steve? Steve?” 

Steve shook his head, the memory flittering from his mind. His eyes rose to meet Diana, who looked concerned, her hand stroking the side of his face. As he leaned into her hand, an explosion rocked the island and they whipped around catching sight of the boat breaking its way through the barrier. 

Diana’s eyes were wide as Steve and Diana scrambled to their feet, “Who are they?”

“The bad guys. Come on, Diana lets go!” Steve held out his hand to her and as she reached to take it a loud shout came from the top of the cliff.

“Diana! Get away from him!”

But Diana’s hand landed in his and his fingers threaded through hers before they took off toward the cliff, as Amazon’s began descending from the top, as German’s touched down on the beach. 

Flaming arrows rained down as bullets flew past and Diana and Steve slid behind a rock as fighting commenced on the beach. They shared a glance and smiled and for a second it felt like they hadn’t been separated for years. 

“Let’s go.” 

Steve ran out and grabbed a gun from a soldier, flipping around a knocking him in the face before taking aim and taking out several other Germans. Diana followed behind him, taking cover from his back until she managed to grab a bow. She slid across the sand picking up spare arrows and she let them fly one by one. 

Diana slid up alongside Steve, placing her back against his and they circled around each other taking out more soldiers. 

“You remember your training,” she panted, dropping the bow and taking out her sword, spinning it around in her hand. 

She spun around with a smile wide on her face; her hair fanning out around her and for a second, Steve’s heart flopped, flashing her smirk before taking out the soldier to his right. 

“I had a good teacher.”

She raised her eyebrow and pointed to herself. 

But let out a scoff, rolling his eyes, “No, Antiope.” 

She threw him a light glare, sticking out her tongue at him, before spinning around and taking off after more soldiers. Steve was watching her leap off a boulder and slice down a soldier when a man tackled him to the ground. He wrestled the knife out of the soldier’s hand and punched him across the face, his head shooting up when he heard a loud shout. 

His head whipped around, his heart pounding as he watched Antiope race across the sand. His heart stopped as he watched her throw herself in the way of the bullet that was going to strike Diana. 

His breath caught in his throat as he watched her go down, but without wasting a second he took aim taking down the soldier before running toward Diana, who had dropped down screaming next to Antiope. 

When he slid to his knees beside her, he could hear Antiope gasping. 

“You must go Diana. Godki-“ she turned and caught sight of Steve, her breath gasping, “Steve? My Steve?.

Steve nodded with a small smile as her hand rose up to brush across his cheek. She let out a wide smile before she took a deep breath and her hand dropped. 

“No! No!” Diana cried, her body dropping down onto Antiope’s stomach. Steve’s head hung and he placed a gentle hand on her forehead, tears falling down his face. 

Diana let out another wail and Steve’s heart lurched at the sound. He reached over placing an arm around her back and turned burying his head in her hair. For a second, it felt as if the world stood still. 

“Do not move.” 

Steve felt a sword being pressed against his throat and swallowed hard and he untangled himself from Diana. He pulled back, standing slowly, his hands out as the Amazon’s surrounded him. 

“No!” Diana shouted, scrambling to her feet, she placed herself in front of him.

“It’s Steve! It’s Steve.” 

Gasps sounded and everyone immediately lowered their weapons. 

“But he came with the villains,” someone argued.

“No! He is not one of them.”

Steve peeked out from behind Diana, “I’m not by the way!”

Diana turned around leveling Steve with a light glare. 

“Enough!” Queen Hippolyta pushed her way through the group of warriors and gestured for the women to disperse. 

They wasted no time. The next thing Steve knew, he was wrapped in the famous lasso. 

“You know after learning about this thing for years, you never mentioned that it was hot.” 

“Why are you here, Steve? How did you find your way back?” 

“Um….I’m not exactly sure. I like to think it was luck, but I think it was something more.” He went on to talk about the war. He talked about how he went undercover. How he was trying to stop the generals from burning innocent villages to the ground. How so many women, children, innocents, soldiers, had already died. 

“I need your help, please. We cannot do this alone.” 

He had barely finished talking before he being dragged away. He fought frantically against the Amazon’s. He turned around his eyes meeting Diana’s. She threw him a smile and he nodded. Even after all these years, they were still able to communicate with just a glance. 

Steve faced forward and let himself be dragged out of the room, after stopping at the medical room, they dropped him off in the bathing room telling him in no uncertain terms that he smelled. 

Once he was alone, Steve all but collapsed to the ground. His heart was racing, his head felt all jumbled. He had only been back for a few minutes and already he had lost one of the most important people in his life. Antiope had been more to him than the others. She had adopted him as her own. She had trained him. Care for him. Loved him. And he hadn’t even had time to talk to her and now she was gone. As much as his heart was aching, the pain had to be pushed aside. A war was raging and he could help stop it. 

He ran his hands over his face and took a deep breath as he looked around at his surroundings. He couldn’t believe that he was back on Themyscira. He had no idea how he had gotten here or why. All he remembered was crashing the plane into the water. But that didn’t matter now. Because now he was back. _With Diana_. 

_Diana_. 

The second he saw her, he knew it was her. She looked older but the second his eyes met hers, he immediately recognized that mischievous glint in her brown eyes. 

She was beautiful. She had always been beautiful to him. Growing up with Diana had been amazing. But his ever-growing affections had been troublesome. She had been his best friend and not wanting to ruin their friendship, he pushed them aside. It wasn’t until he lost her that he regretted never telling her. But they had been young. And now they were older. But he didn’t know this Diana. She seemed more mature and reserved, not as talkative as she once was, much like the warrior’s that had raised them. He knew she wasn’t the same. But he wasn’t the same either. They had both grown and changed, but he knew that now that they were together again, they would find that balance again. Everything was about to change, but with Diana at his side, he knew they would get through it, _together_.

──────────────────────

Diana tore her gaze from Steve as he was dragged from the room and turned running after her mother.

“Mother! We need to help him.” 

“Diana.” She sighed. 

“No. I believe him. You must as well. He is still the same man.” 

“That is not your Steve anymore.” 

Diana stopped short, “What do you mean? He is Steve.” 

“He has been gone for years. Diana, you do not know how corrupt mankind is. He has been in the world of men. He has changed.” 

“I believe him. Mother-”

But Hippolyta held up her hand, silencing her daughter, “No, Diana. It has already been decided. We will not go.”

Diana’s heart raced and she nodded her head before walking away. The second she turned the corner, out of view from her mother, she broke into a run. When she arrived at the medical room, she peeked inside hoping to find Steve, but all she saw was the doctor. She rolled her eyes a pointed to the bathing room and Diana nodded in thanks. 

As she walked to the bathing room, her mind was racing. Steve was back. _Her Steve_. He was so different from the young boy she remembered. He had been all long limbs, crooked smile, and quick wit. Now he was older, his long limbs replaced by muscles, his manner seemed more mature, but his smile was still the same. 

It had been years, more than a decade really since she had last seen him. She didn’t truly know him anymore, but just one glance in his eyes and suddenly she was a 10-year-old girl again. In that one glance, she could remember every single moment she had spent with him. He had been her best friend. And she had loved him. 

She knew that being with him wouldn’t be the same. They had both grown and changed so much. But she knew that it would only be a matter of time where one single glance between them, would be enough to tear down the world around them. 

As she rounded the corner, her heart was pounding but she smiled knowing that even though everything was going to change, at least Steve would be by her side.

──────────────────────

A few minutes later, Diana walked into the room, the second that Steve rose from the bath. Diana’s eyes grew wide. She hadn’t seen Steve since he was 12 years old and he was so different from how she remembered him.

Steve coughed, his face flushing, “Oh, Diana.”

She smirked, “Steve.” She watched as his face grew a deeper red and she cleared her throat, “What’s that?” 

Steve’s eyes grew wide as he looked down, “I… um- what? Oh, that.”

He cleared his throat before scurrying down the rocks and sliding on his pants before reaching down to grab the watch resting on the ground. 

“It’s a watch. When I- um…got sent back, I found my way back to my old home. I found all my belongings. My childhood memories. But nothing mattered to me anymore. Other than this watch. It belonged to my father. Everything else was nothing. Everything I wanted was back here. All I had to remember you by were the clothes on my back. I was told over and over that it was a dream, that I had imagined it all. I thought I would never see you again. At one point I even convinced myself that I had made it all up, but then I would dream and you’d be there and I’d just know that you were out there somewhere. I’ve thought about you every day. I spent hours trying to remember every detail about you. I wrote down everything I could. Every conversation. Every prank. Every time I kicked your ass.” He smirked. 

Diana rolled her eyes before smiling sadly, “It was different for me. I had too many things to remind me of you. So many memories. So many objects. It hurt. I haven’t gone into my childhood room since you left. I couldn’t deal with the memories. I never forgot about you once. When you vanished, I broke. You were here one day and gone the next. When I would miss you, I would sit up on the roof where we used to star watch. I’d imagine you beside me. I knew you were still out there. I always had hope. That is why I always wear this.”

She held up her arm and pulled down her arm gauntlet so that Steve could see the bracelet tied around her wrist. His eyes widened and he took a step up, reaching into his pocket and grabbed something, holding it out for her to take. 

“I’ve kept this with me all these years. This is what I was looking for the day I went missing. It was the last piece I needed.” He took another step forward so that he was just inches from her. He reached down and grabbed her hand pulling it up. He spun the bracelet around and placed the pearl in his hand into the empty space.

“A perfect fit.” He whispered, brushing his thumb over her wrist, feeling her heart racing. 

A beat passed and then Diana shot forward wrapping herself around him, his arms wrapping tight around her back and he felt her shudder against him. 

“I’ve missed you, Steve.”

His arms tightened around her, “You have no idea how much I missed you, Diana.” 

Diana pulled back, his hands sliding from around her back to settle on her waist, her hands cupping his face, “I am coming with you. My mother refuses to send help, but I am going anyway.” 

Steve smiled and nodded. 

“But we have one stop, before we leave.” 

Diana tangled her fingers in his and they walked through the corridors. As they reached their destination, they passed by Diana’s old room. Diana kept her face front and continued walking, but Steve stopped abruptly stopping Diana in her tracks. 

“Can I?”

Diana nodded and Steve opened the door. The air was stale but everything was clear and it looked exactly how Steve remembered it. 

Steve dropped Diana’s hand, leaving her in the doorway as he walked over to the bed, “I miss the nights we spent lying here. The way we just talked about everything.” 

Diana chuckled from the doorway, “Also the mornings when your mother would find us asleep next to each other and you could hear her screaming from across the island.” 

Steve swallowed hard and took one last look around the room before he closed the door behind him. 

“So where exactly are we going?” 

“Breaking into.” 

“Breaking…into?” 

Diana smiled and Steve rolled his eyes, just like old times. 

“Stay here. I will open the door for you. After I make the jump.” 

Steve’s brows furrowed, “Jump? Diana?” But she was already gone. 

Steve was standing silently by the door when he heard a loud bang. His eyes widened and he peeked around the corner watching as Diana scaled the side of the wall with her bare hands. _Well that’s new _.__

__The door flew open behind him and he spun around watching as Diana gestured for him to follow her._ _

__Diana weaved through the halls, Steve following quickly after her. She slipped inside a room and appeared holding two sets of armor. Steve took one with a raised eyebrow watching, as Diana didn’t wait a second before taking off once again. With a sigh, he raced after her almost running into her motionless body when he turned the corner. His eyes widened as he took in the sword before him._ _

__“Is that-“_ _

__“Yes.”_ _

____

──────────────────────

The boat was ready when they arrived and Steve turned to take one last look at the island. He wished he could have stayed longer. This place had been more of a home to him than London had ever been. But he knew that getting back to the war was more important. He had Doctor Poison’s notebook. He could stop hundreds of thousands of innocents from dying.

Pounding footsteps stopped Diana and Steve in their tracks and they turned watching as Hippolyta rode up on her horse. 

“Diana. Steve.”

“I am going, Mother. I cannot stand by while innocent lives are lost.”

“I know. And I know I cannot stop you. But you must know that you may never return if you leave.” 

Diana tensed, “Who would I be if I stayed?” 

Steve cleared his throat, “I am sorry, Hippolyta.” 

“It is not your fault, Steve. You are doing what you believe is right. I hope you know how deeply we all cared for you. Antiope especially.”

Hippolyta reached behind her and pulled out a sword, holding it out for Steve to take. Steve stepped forward slowly and took it from her. As he stepped back, he ran his fingers over the engravings.

"Antiope would want you to have that. Use it well."

Steve's eyes welled up as he tightened his grip on the hilt of the sword, “ _Thank you_. I hope you know that I cared for you as well. You were my family.” 

Hippolyta nodded before turning back to Diana. She reached out handing her Antiope’s headpiece, “This belonged to the greatest warrior of all time. Make sure you are worthy of it. I know I cannot stop you, but you must be careful in the world of men, Diana. They do not deserve you.” 

Diana and Steve watched as Hippolyta rode off before turning back to look out at the water. 

Steve reached out and slipped his hand into Diana’s and together they walked toward the boat, hand in hand, ready to go save the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up: Flashback of Steve's first year on Themiscyra in which he learns how to fight, bonds with Antiope, gets in trouble with Diana, and breaks Hippolyta's wall down


End file.
